Wajid Ali Shah was not exiled to Calcutta, he came on his own, says book by descendant
A calendar prepared by Wajid Ali Shah, the last emperor of Awadh, is displayed at the Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu
Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was not exiled to Calcutta, but came to the city because he wanted to take a ship to London to file a petition, but this departure was restricted and he remained, according to a biography written by his grandson, which has just been translated from Urdu into English by the biographer’s daughter Talat Fatima.
“Lucknow and Calcutta can be called two very big and very important chapters in the life of Wajid Ali Shah. People often think that he was exiled to Calcutta, that it was like a punishment from the British. The truth is that he came to Calcutta of his own free will. He wanted to present a petition before the British Parliament and the Queen about his dethronement and the atrocities committed by the British in India. He wanted to reach London via Calcutta, but unfortunately this was not possible. The last king of Awadh said his great-great daughter, Dr. Fatima.
He is the author of the book that will be published soon. Wajid Ali Shah: A Cultural and Literary Legacy —Published by Hachette in India – it is an English translation of the biography written by his father, Kaukub Quder Sajjad Ali Meerza, an academic who also served as Satyajit Ray’s research advisor in the mid-1990s. Shatranj Ke Khiladi.
“Most of the books on Wajid Ali Shah talk about his image, but this book (that of his father) stands out as it is backed by about 38 months of research, so there are many facts that are hitherto unknown. There is a lot of confusion regarding his date of birth, date of death, date of coronation, number of books and compositions – all of these have been meticulously researched,” said Dr Fatima. Hindu.
“There is a lot to know about him as a poet and writer. Lucknow has some compositions, but most of his compositions in Calcutta consist of his letters. He used to write love letters to his begums from whom he was estranged. In those letters, he would tell about his mental troubles. People usually hesitate to share their love letters with the public, but not Wajid Ali Shah. He was a completely different person. He said that love letters were masterpieces in literature. No matter what, he wrote love letters to his gentlemen in Calcutta, mostly in Fort Fort “He wrote that they were at William’s,” he said.
When asked how many begums the last king of Lucknow had, Dr. Fatima said that the number was between 50 and 60, six to seven of whom stayed with her in Calcutta, where she spent the last thirty years of her life and died in 1887 at the age of 65. He said that he chose to translate his father’s work because the readership of Urdu is very limited but English is worldwide.
“Wajid Ali Shah is more relevant today than ever. We have a lot to learn from him. He was a devout Muslim but also secular to the core. Even his compositions contained verses on Radha and Krishna, which you can find in the book. He had a healthy attitude towards other religions and languages. He wrote in Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Braj Bhasha. People speak passionately about his relationship with the opposite sex, but this is mostly due to his bold pen. This book tells There is so much more about him,” said Dr. Fatima.
It was published – 11 February 2026 01:11 IST
